Someone Has to Help
by Lagoona
Summary: Those were the last words he said to his brother. Now that he has the chance to live up to those words will he? Heroes #1.
1. New Beginings

New Beginings

 _Tadashi!_

 _Tadashi!_

 _I'm sorry Hiro, I'll be back as soon as I can._

The fire clawed at him as he ran. He had to make it to his brother's invention, then he could save both himself and his professor. But the heat and smoke made it hard to see and breath. He had to hurry, the building could collapse or an invention could explode. He had to hurry to the microbots and use them to make it out.

"Professor Callaghan!" He shouted as he rounded the corner to the mail hall, "Professor, are you in here!?"

"You shouldn't be here Tadashi." came the professor's voice, "Its not safe."

"I know Pro… is that Hiro's Neural Cranial Transmitter?"

"Yes, and I'm sorry, Tadashi, but you've seen to much." Callaghan said. Tadashi heard a snapping sound and looked up to see Microbots snaking their way around the ends of the support beam above his head. Tadashi barely had time to throw himself to the side before the support beam fell, barely missing him.

"Professor!?" Tadashi gasped, fear making his voice crack, "Why?"  
"You're a slippery one Mr. Hamada. But I have plans that you're now a threat to." Callaghan sent a stream of Mircobots and slammed Tadashi into a table of inventions, causing their contents to spill all over the young man. Tadashi glanced up to see his attacker looking at his watch. "Goodbye Mr. Hamada. Its a shame it had to come to this. You had potential."

Tadashi wasn't sure how to react when Callaghan made the Microbots form a dome around him and quickly fled. Everything happened so fast and his head was spinning. Using the table to stand he caught something out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head his eyes met a timer counting down. He barely had time to register it was a bomb when the timer hit zero and he was hit with the explosion.

* * *

A groan escaped his lips as he regained consciousness. Everything hurt and he was disoriented. He tried opening his eyes but the sudden brightness of wherever he was made him close them again. He sat up and put his hand to his temple. Blinking until his eyes adjusted he took a glance around.

The room made was full of machinery and medical equipment. Most of it looked like advanced versions of common medical devices but he didn't recognize some of it. He knew he was in some kind of hospital, but he couldn't remember _why_. He sighed and rand his hand through his hair. Or at least he tried to. But all he felt was his scalp and something, well he wasn't sure what it felt like but he know it didn't feel like his hair.

He brought his hand in front of his face to look at it, and his heart dropped. Instead of his normal light skin he saw his skin was a glowing orange white color and it swirled and danced around like it was alive. His breathing quickened. Throwing the blanket covering him off he looked down at himself. His torso was covered by a hospital gown, but his legs were uncovered and he saw them in the same condition as his arms.

His mind was racing as he practically flew out of the bed he was in. He ran to the door, but stopped as his hand reached for the handle. He caught his reflection in a mirror in the bathroom next to where he stood. Without taking his eyes off his reflection he slowly walked to the mirror, as if he was in a trance. His breath hitched as he studied his reflection.

The face staring back at him was clearly his own, but at the same time he couldn't recognize himself past the changes. His skin, like the rest of it, was a swirling orange white color. His hair, if it could be called that anymore, was made of small flames that danced in the open air. But what he couldn't stop looking at were his eyes. They were a glowing yellow white and lacked pupils. They looked so menacing they scared him.

"No…" he whispered, a sob escaping his throat, as he ran his fingers over his face, "No… What… happened to me? I'm… I'm a… monster..."

He was pulled from his thoughts when the door opened and a middle aged woman walked by. She was blonde, fair skinned, blue eyes, and wore a lab coat, over a yellow scrubs with black sneakers. Sticking his head out of the bathroom he noticed that the back of her lab coat was bedazzled with a butterfly in pale blue and pink gems.

"Hello Mr…" She started saying before she noticed the bed was empty. She quickly turned around and saw his head sticking out of the bathroom, "Oh! There you are. I'm so glad you're awake! I was hoping you could answer some questions."

"I… Where am I?" he asked, his voice dry, "What happened to me?"

"First off, my name is Doctor Jane Hawkins." The woman said, "Secondly you're in my medical ward. You were brought here after you were found in the wreckage of the SFIT showcase hall. Thirdly, I was hoping you could tell me what happened to you. What do you remember? Oh! And your name please."

"My name is Tadashi Hamada. And I remember… I remember running into the burning building to save someone… My brother! Where's my brother!?"

"According to the report filed by the person who found you, you were the only person in the building." Jame answered, "What was his name? I'll look into it for you."

"His name is Hiro. Hiro Hamada."

"Heathcliff," Jane said into the phone she pulled from her coat pocket, "Can you look into a Hiro Hamada for me? See what happened to him after the fire? Uh huh? Okay, thank you. He was taken to San Fransokyo General Hospital for a concussion. But other than that and a few scrapes and bruises he's otherwise unharmed."

"Thank goodness." Tadashi sighed.

"Can you tell me what happened to you in the building?" Jane asked, "It might explain how you came to be like you are."

"Um, I ran in to… save… my professor! He tried to kill me! He tried to drop a support beam on me, but I managed to jump out of the way… He knocked me into some machines and what ever they had inside spilled all over me. When I didn't get back up he left. Then there was an explosion… Next thing I remember is waking up here…"

"I see." Jane said, looking down, "It may have been the contents of those machines that are responsible for your condition. Do you mind if I take some blood?"

"Um, sure?" He watched as Jane pulled a syringe out of her coat pocket and drew some blood. His eyes widened at the sight of it. Instead of normal red blood the substance in the syringe looked more like, well, liquid fire. "Is that…?"

"It looks like this is what your blood has become." Jane said, as she studied the liquid, "Most interesting. I'm going to go get this tested, do you want me to have someone bring you some food or a drink or something?"

"Some water would be nice."

"Okay, I'll have someone bring you some. I'll be back once I find out about your blood sample."

"Thank you."

Jane nodded as she left, leaving Tadashi to his thoughts. Did Professor Callaghan really try to kill him, or was it just someone who looked like him? No, he called him by name, it was surely Callaghan. But _why_ would he try to kill him? The professor had been kind and supportive. He'd been someone he looked up to like a father. Why would he betray him like this? It made no sense. Maybe he was being blackmailed or brainwashed or something.

"Someone order some water?" a voice pulled him from his thoughts.

He looked up to see a boy around fifteen or sixteen walk into the room holding a glass of water. He had dark brown, almost black, thick hair and brown eyes. His skin was light tan. He wore a red t-shirt and blue jeans with black sneakers. He didn't look like he belonged in a hospital. Maybe he was a volunteer or something. Tadashi knew he did not want this kid to see him.

"Oh, fire guy." he said and Tadashi wished he had told him to set the water down somewhere and leave, "Whats up?"

"Been better…" Tadashi wasn't sure what to make of this kid's nonchalant attitude at his condition. The doctor was probably hiding a reaction so he didn't freak out. Yeah, the kid was probably doing the same thing.

"I bet." the kid responded, the same nonchalant tone in his voice, and set the glass of water on the bedside table, "Well, here's your water."

"Thanks." Tadashi replied and reached for the glass. He took a sip, but the instant the water touched his tongue it evaporated and a sharp pain rang through his mouth, causing him to cry out.

"Hey, you okay?" the kid asked, having rushed back into the room.

"Yeah," Tadashi coughed, the pain was quickly fading, "The water hurt…"

"Understandable." Jane said as she entered the room, "In fact, I'm not sure why non of us thought of it. You're made of fire and water puts out fire."

"I see…" Tadashi said, solemnly, "So I can't drink anything? Won't I dehydrate?"

"I highly doubt it." Jane said, "I have the results from your blood test. There is no actual blood. Its more like a kind if liquified plasma. There is very little actual water in your blood. I'm at a loss at how this happened. It defies any known science. You are a very unique and interesting case Mr. Hamada."

"Is there any way to change me back to normal?" Tadashi quietly asked, "I can't stay like this…"

"I'll try to find a way Mr. Hamada. But I'll be frank, it's unlikely." Jane answered, "But maybe if you can learn to control your fire you can turn yourself back to normal. If not, than I'm sorry."

"So what do I do?" Tadashi asked, despair evident in his voice and his flames growing, "I can't go home like this, I can't risk hurting my friends and family. I'm not sure how I haven't set anything on fire yet. I'm scared."

"You can stay here and train to master any new abilities you may have gained from your new form." came a new voice. All heads turned to look at the older man in the door. He had salt and pepper hair, a thick mustache, and pale skin. He wore sunglasses and a dark blue business suit. "My name is Stanley Lieber and I own this place. We train the next generation of Super Heroes here. And you could be one of them. One of the greats. What do you say young man, will you do it?"

* * *

That's it for chapter. This is based on the rumor where there will be a Big Hero 6 sequel where Tadashi is alive and is Sunfire.

I like giving characters voices, so Jane would be voiced my Lily Tomlin in her Ms. Frizzle voice. The boy who brought Tadashi's water would be Antony Del Rio in his normal talking voice, specifically from the '3 Inches' pilot. And of course Stanley Lieber is Stan Lee.


	2. Heat

Heat

"Will you do it?" Stanley asked.

"I don't have much choice." Tadashi answered, "If Ms. Hawkins can't cure me then the only way for me to return to normal is to get control. I _really_ don't want to hurt anyone."

"I was hoping you would say that." Jane replied, "I already made your super suit! Its made out of the same fire proof material as the bedding in your room and your robes. I'll have some clothes done by morning."

"Alright, get some rest tonight, tomorrow you start training." Stanley said.

"Would you like something to eat?" Jane asked, "Christopher bring up some dinner and some candles."

"Romancing the new guy already?" the boy, Christopher, replied, "Never expected you to be a cougar Ms. Hawkins."

"The candles are in case he can't eat food, he may need fire for sustenance." Jane replied.

"Uh huh, if you say so." the boy responded, walking out of the room.

"Do you really think I can't eat?" Tadashi asked.

"I don't know." Jane answered, "I've never seen anyone like you before. But it wouldn't hurt to have backup plans. And backup plans for the backup plans."

"Well this keeps getting better and better…" Tadashi said, sarcastically.

* * *

Tadashi stared at the plate of food in front of him. He was a little afraid to try some. It smelled and looked good, but what if he really couldn't eat it? His eyes fell on the candle next to the plate on the portable hospital table. Would the fire taste good? Would it taste like anything? Would it be filling? He sighed, and stabbed a slice of carrot with his fork. No point in waiting to find out, right? He put the sliced veggie in his mouth and a look of disgust graced his face. It tasted burnt. He spit it out into his napkin and sighed.

"Was it bad?" Jane asked.

"It tasted burnt."

"Hmm, those were raw. Care to try the fire?"

"Okay…" Tadashi picked up the candle by the metal base that held it in place. He wasn't sure how to go about eating fire. He brought it to his mouth and decided inhaling it would probably be the best way to get it in his mouth without getting wax too. He was a bit surprised when the fire seemingly separated from the wick and flew into his mouth. He was also surprised to find it had a taste. And it was good.

"How was it?" Jane asked once he finished.

"It was actually pretty good. And I feel less hungry."

"Good. Now we know you do, in fact, eat fire so we don't have to worry about you starving to death." She said, writing down their findings in a note pad. "You should try to get some rest after you've had enough. Tomorrow morning you'll be joining Nova and White Tiger in the training hall."

"Wait!" Tadashi called as she was about to walk out the door, "Is there a way to contact my family? I'm sure they're worried about me."

"You'll have to ask Stanley about that. He'll be at the training session in the morning, you can ask him then. Good night Mr. Hamada."

* * *

Tadashi stood in his room, looking at his refection in the full length mirror Jane dropped off when she gave him his super suit. His suit was mostly red, with a white belt. The belt had a white, round, buckle, and the top half of his suit had several white lines starting from the belt buckle and going up around his torso making it look like the Japanese Rising Sun. His face was hidden behind a red mask that looked like the Japanese symbol for fire, his fiery hair danced freely behind it. The ends of his gloves and boots has a fire design on the ends of them.

"What do you think?" Jane asked as she entered the room.

"Its… nice." Tadashi answered, "A little tight though."

"You'll get used to it." Jane responded, "Now for the important question, do you want a bedazzled butterfly or smiley face on our back?"

"Um…I…" Tadashi stuttered, "I like the way it is."

"Ah, yes, don't want it to out shine you. Now lets go find out what you can do."

Jane led him to a large room two floors down. Aside from him it was empty. On the wall opposite the door was a window from about halfway up to the ceiling. He could see three people sitting in the room beyond when Jane walked in and took a seat. Aside from Jane he only recognized Stanley.

Sitting beside Stanley was a man in black armor. He had a yellow belt around his waist, with a yellow belt buckle. His boots, a ring around the base of his neck, and arms from about halfway down his upper arm were also yellow. Dark gray bracers were around his forearms. Three yellow circles adorned his torso, one on each side and his chest and one centered below them on his belly. A yellow line connected the two upper circles with the lower one, and the lower one to his belt buckle and connected the upper ones to an identical design on his back. His helmet was also yellow and covered his entire head except for his mouth and chin. A red four pointed star decorated the front of his helmet, the bottom point between his eyes, and the two side points above them.

The woman's suit was far simpler than the man's. It consisted of a white full body cat suit and mask that covered her entire head, small points on the head looked like small cat ears. Three light gray stripes were on each shoulder and hip. Around her waist was a light gray belt that rested at an angle. A green amulet in the shape of a tiger's head hung from the lowest side of her belt. Her fingers looked more like claws than actual fingers. A long black pony tail came from the back of the top of her head and ended about halfway down her back.

"Okay Sunfire," Stanley voice came from a speaker near the window, "Lets see if you can create fire. Focus on creating a small flame in the palm of your hand."

"Sunfire?" Tadashi asked.

"Your Super Hero name." Stanley answered, "Now focus."

Tadashi nodded and did as he was told. He lifted his hand and held his palm flat. He focused on the orange glow of his skin, envisioning a fireball forming in his hand. To his surprise a small fireball actually did appear. He watched the small fire flicker around. It was mesmerizing. Small, glowing, warm. Dangerous. This small fireball could cause so much damage if he lost control. His breath quickened. What if he did lose control? What if he accidentally hurt these nice people who were trying to help him? What if he went home and hurt his family? Or worse. No, he couldn't let that happen. He cannot contact his family until he mastered these new abilities.

"Mr. Hamada!" Stanley yelled, "Mr. Hamada! Calm down!"

Tadashi looked up from the fireball in his hand and saw the four people in the room standing and staring at him. His reflection in the window caught his eyes next, his entire body was emitting large flames and the room was starting to glow with heat. The heat and glow forced the memories of the fire at SFIT back into his mind. He felt the heat claw at him as it tired to steal him for itself. The cold look of utter betrayal on his former professor's face. The scared, sorrow filled, cries of his precious little brother calling out to him as he ran into the fire that changed everything. His brother, if he had just listened to him none of this would be happening. But he didn't listen and now he's trapped as a monster, a walking inferno. He was _dangerous_.

"Tadashi." he tensed when he heard someone close call his name, "Its okay. Deep breaths Tadashi, deep breaths."

He turned his head and saw Stanley standing a few feet away. Inhaling deeply Tadashi started to relax, the fire dying down with his anxiety. He smiled at the guy holding his shoulder and was surprised to find the guy was shorter than him. Once the fire had completely died he noticed the other three were also in the room.

"That was quite the show Mr. Hamada." Stanley said, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry about that." Tadashi answered, "The fireball brought back some unpleasant memories that I guess sent my brain into overdrive."

"It seems your emotional state has a large influence on your flames." Jane said, "We'll have to work emotional control into your training sessions. But that's for later, for now I want to introduce you to our teammates. You've already met Nova. And this young lady is White Tiger."

"Christopher Parr." the guy said, taking off his helmet revealing himself to be the boy from yesterday, "You can call me Chris."

"May Ramirez." The girl said, pulling her mask back revealing her long, curly, dark brown hair and eyes, and her tan skin. "Nice to meet you."

"Can you try to turn your fire off so we can see your no doubt handsome face?" Jane asked.

Tadashi nodded and closed his eyes, focused on his flames going away. He focused on his fire receding and his true form replacing his fiery one. When he opened his eyes he lifted an arm into his field of vision and was shocked to see the same swirling orange white skin that had replaced his own natural skin. Closing his eyes tighter he tried again. _Focus Tadashi!_ He opened his eyes to find the orange glow still there, taunting him.

"I can't…" He whispered, as a small sob escaped his throat.

* * *

That's it for this chapter. Nova's armor was a pain to describe, and I still don't think I did it justice. His and White Tiger's armors are the ones from season one of Ultimate Spider-Man. Christopher Parr is names after Christopher Robin from Winnie the Pooh and the Parrs from The Incredibles, while May Ramirez is named after May Duck, niece of Daisy Duck, and Audrey Ramirez from Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and Jane Hawkins is named after Jane Porter from Tarzan and the Hawkins from Treasure Planet. May would be voiced by Raini Rodriguez in her normal talking voice, specifically from Austin and Ally.

Christopher Parr is Sam Alexander's counterpart, May Ramirez is Ava Ayala's counterpart, Jane Hawkins is Hank Pym's counterpart, and Tadashi Hamada is Shiro Yoshida's counterpart. I don't own anything.


	3. Pathways

Pathways

Tadashi sat on the bed in the room that he guessed was his, now that he'd never be able to go home, being stuck as a fiery monster of destruction and all. He'd been trying all morning and most of the afternoon to turn back to normal only to fail each time. A depressed sigh escaped his lips for the umpteenth time that day. What was he going to do? He could never go home now. Never again would he ruffle Hiro's hair or give Aunt Cass a hug. A sob found its way out. Hanging out with his friends was out too. He was on his own. He was alone. Another sob.

"What am I going to do?" he quietly asked no one in particular, "I just want to go home…"

Another quiet sob found it's way out when his thoughts wound up on his home. Hiro, the most important person in his life. The one he completely devoted himself to when their parents died. His boneheaded little brother who was both the smartest and dumbest person he knew. Aunt Cass, the woman who took them in when their parents died even though she was mourning her lost sister. The woman who was his mother for over ten years. Mochi, the fat cat who was always there when you needed a good hug. The cat who liked to curl up with them when they had family night, no matter what they were doing.

He wondered if he was crying, if he even could cry like he was. Maybe he would feel better if he did get in touch with his family somehow. Just to let them know he's okay. Well, maybe not okay, but alive and in one piece. He got out of his bed and grabbed a piece of paper from the desk against the wall, a piece of paper that burst into flames at his touch. He let out a depressed sigh. _Why didn't I realize that would happen…?_

 _Maybe one of the others will write a letter for me…_ He thought as he exited his room. He looked for one of the others as he walked down the hall. It wasn't long before he got lost. Turning a corner, one he was sure he turned four times now, he saw someone on the other end of the hall. _Finally!_ He quickened his pace to catch up to the person. Rounding the corner he just saw the person turn he found the hallway empty.

"Master Tadashi?" a voice came from behind him, startling him. "Did you require some assistance?"

"Oh! Um… I don't think we've met." Tadashi said, wondering where he came from.

"Dreadfully sorry. I am Heathcliff, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." said the older, bald, man held his hand out for Tadashi to shake.

"Nice to meet you." Tadashi replied, "Um, I don't mean to be rude, but I can't shake your hand."

"Yes, quite. My apologies. Did you require assistance?"

"I was wondering if maybe you could help me write a letter to my family, or maybe help me call them?"

"Yes, sir. There is a phone in the lobby, if you would follow me."

Tadashi followed Heathcliff to an elevator and, after going down three stories, into the main lobby. On what appeared to be the reception desk was a phone. Tadashi's stomach was doing somersaults. What was he going to tell them? He has been gone for... days? How long had he been gone? Maybe it'll come to him when they answer. After telling Heathcliff the phone number, and the butler dialed and put it on speaker, he heard it ring, waiting for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" someone answered, he recognized the voice as Aunt Cass, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

"He-hello?" Tadashi stammered. He didn't know why he was so nervous.

"Who's calling?"

"I, um…"

"Look, I'm sorry but we just had a funeral for my nephew and I'm physically and emotionally exhausted. So if you don't need anything I'm going to hang up." And with that the phone call ended.

"They think I'm dead…" Tadashi whispered to himself as Heathcliff hung up the phone.

"My condolences Master Tadashi." Heathcliff offered, "Would you like to try again?"

"I… I don't… They think I'm dead…" Tadashi sobbed, "Why is all this happening? What did I do to deserve this?"

"It is not a matter of who deserves what." Heathcliff soothed, "You are a victim of circumstance, Master Tadashi. The question you should be asking yourself is whether or not you are going to continue being a victim or if you are going to rise above the circumstances that life has thrown at you."

Tadashi stared at the man in front of him. He was a victim. A victim of his own stupidity for trusting Callaghan, for trying to save the man who didn't need it and tried to repay him by attempting to murder him. The man who stole the invention his brother worked so hard on. The man who turned him into a monster. The man who took him away from his family, and them away from him. The man who made his family grieve when they didn't have to.

His family… What must they be going through? What would they think if they saw him like this? Should he go see them? Maybe try calling again? Would they accept him for what he's become? What if he really did hurt them unintentionally? No, that's to big of a risk. He's too dangerous. Hopefully Jane will be able to turn him back to normal. If not then his only hope is if he masters his powers, then he'll be able to turn himself back to normal. If, when, he can get better control then maybe, just maybe, he can go home. He doesn't want to think about if neither works. But one thing he is very sure of, Tadashi Hamada does _not_ give up.

"I'm going to go train." Tadashi said, "Thanks Heathcliff."

"My pleasure, Sir."

"Can you tell me how to get to the training hall?"

"Follow me, Master Tadashi."

"You can just call me Tadashi."

"Yes, Master Tadashi."

* * *

Tadashi walked into the training room and found Nova and White Tiger sparring against each other. Nova was flying near the ceiling, emitting some kind of blue light energy, shooting blue energy at White Tiger, who was dodging them. She ran and jumped off a wall and tried to slash him, but he floated back, avoiding her claws. He shot another energy beam at her, but she jumped to the side and the energy beam ended up heading straight for Tadashi. He instinctively threw his arms up, a stream of fire shot from his hand, hitting the blue beam. Both fizzled out in a bright flash, surprising everyone watching.

"Welcome back, Mr. Hamada." Stanley's voice came through the speaker near the window. "Decided to do some training?"

"Yes, Sir." Tadashi answered, "I want to start mastering my powers in case Jane can't cure me."

"Is that the only reason?" Stanley asked, "Just to return to normal?"

"Well, I don't want to hurt anyone, so that's another reason. And maybe if I do get control not only can I return to normal but I can actually help people."

"That's a good answer. Very well." Stanley replied, "Nova, White Tiger, take a break. Sunfire, take on a training bot. It's a level one, so it should be easy."

Tadashi nodded to Nova and White Tiger as they walked out of the room. Well, White Tiger walked, Nova floated. As soon as the door closed a robot, that looked vaguely like a metallic human skeleton with glowing red eyes, appeared in the center of the room, rising from the floor. The robot started walking slowly towards him. Focusing on the fire in his hand, a fireball formed and he threw it st the robot. The fireball, and the robot, exploded. The lower half of the robot fell to the floor when the top half was destroyed.

Tadashi's victory ended when two more robots appeared. Tadashi found out these had lasers when they started shooting at him. He rolled to the side and threw a fireball at the closest robot, destroying it. The second robot shot at him, forcing him to keep moving. Deciding to try something different, he tried to shoot the stream of fire again. Focusing, he willed the fire into his hand and willed it to fire out as a stream. It did, and hit the robot, melting it into a metallic puddle. When no more robots appeared Tadashi couldn't help but smile.

"Very good Mr. Hamada." Stanley praised, "You seem to be grasping your powers quite nicely."

"Thank you, Sir." Tadashi responded, "The better control I have the less likely I am to accidentally burn someone."

"You seem very interested in learning control." Stanley said, "You're afraid of your powers, aren't you?"

"I… yeah." Tadashi answered, "I'm to dangerous to let my guard down."

"Your powers are a part of you now." Stanley replied, "You'll do better with them if you don't fight them."

"I'm not-"

"Your form is to rigid. You spend to much time focusing on your fire when you should be watching the enemy. If this were a real fight you could have been badly injured, or worse. Those are what we'll work on, control, focus, and acceptance." Stanley said. "One more thing, next time wear your super suit to training."

"I… yes Sir." Tadashi had forgotten he changed into the fireproof clothing Jane made him. A simple green jacket over a white shirt, brown pants, and green shoes.

"Good, now again!" Stanley ordered, as he left and two more robots appeared.

* * *

And that ends chapter three.


	4. Teammates

Teammates

Tadashi walked out of the training room. Stanley made him do three rounds against the robots that day, each one harder than the last. The suit Jane made him was in tatters, his muscles were sore, and several brown spots were littered across his body. He figured those were what bruises looked like on his fiery skin. He didn't want to learn how to fight, he wants to return to normal. He wants to go home and let his family know he's not dead, that he's alive and more or less okay. But he's not about to give up now.

"Very good Mr. Hamada." Stanley said, Nova and White Tiger in tow, meeting him in the hall outside the training hall, "You're a quick study. The three of you should get to know one another, since you'll be teammates. Get changed, by the time you finish dinner will be ready."

"Yes Sir." All three responded and headed off towards the living quarters.

* * *

Tadashi sat at a table in the cafeteria. Across from him were Christopher Parr and May Ramirez, Nova and White Tiger respectively. In front of him was a bowl of something on fire. Glancing at the plates of spaghetti in front of his teammates he couldn't help but be a little jealous. He wanted regular food, people food. This was just another reminder that he wasn't a person anymore.

"Sooo," May spoke up, breaking him from his thoughts, "Who wants to go first?" Neither boy said anything. "Ugh, fine. I'll go first. My name is May Ramirez, I'm seventeen. I'm from Georgia. I'm a triplet. My sisters are April and June. We live with our grandmother, Lucille. I got the White Tiger amulet from my aunt. It chose me for some reason, I haven't figured out why yet. Mr. Lieber got in touch with me a few days later and offered to train me. Can't think of anything else important, so who's next?"

"Christopher Parr. Fifteen, two sisters. Older one is Ellie, younger one is Jenny. From a small town in Florida where nothing ever happens. Powers come from my helmet, which fell into the woods near my house one night. I saw the flash and went to look and found the helmet. Put it on and after a brief trip to the moon I figured out enough to get home and Mr. Lieber contacted me about a week and a half later. Your turn Tadashi."

"My name is Tadashi Hamada I'm nineteen. I live, or lived, with my Aunt Cass and my little brother, Hiro. I'm a student at the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, or I used to be. There was a fire, I went in to try and save my professor only to find he was stealing my brother's Microbots. He attacked me when I called out to him tried to drop a support beam on me. I manage to jump out of the way and he knocked me into some machines. Next thing I know I wake up here, like this."

"Sounds like your professor is seriously messed up." Chris commented.

"So that's what happened to you." May said.

"You didn't know?"

"No, after Mr. Lieber pulled you out of the fire Jane took you straight to the med ward." May answered.

"Wait, Mr. Lieber pulled me out of the fire?"

"Yeah, he didn't tell you?" Chris asked.

"Did they catch your professor?" May asked.

"I doubt it. He has the Microbots, the police probably won't be able to do much to stop him."

"These Microbots sound dangerous," May stated, "why would your brother make such a dangerous weapon?"  
"They weren't supposed to be weapons. They were supposed to be used to help people."

"If your professor is still out there, with these Microbots, he's incredibly dangerous. Maybe the three of us should try to stop him." Chris suggested.

"Are you serious?" May objected, "We're all rookies."

"But we have powers!" Chris argued, "Would you rather the police, or some innocent people, get hurt by the nut job?"

"Well, no but… What do you think, Tadashi?"

"I don't want anyone to get hurt, and with Callaghan running around there's no telling what he'll do, and he's already proven he's willing to kill, and while I agree we could use more training I think we should at least try. At the very least we should be able to slow down his plans."

"So we're doing this? We're going to sneak into June's lab, take the teleportal to San Fransokyo and try to catch a super villain with only two weeks of training?"

"We can't let him hurt anyone," Tadashi stated, "Even if we just slow down his plans, we can use the extra time to get stronger and take him down for good.

"If we're seriously going to do this," May said, "Lets do it as a team. Its probably the only way we'll win anyway."

* * *

"They do know the cafeteria has surveillance cameras, right?" Jane asked, watching the video feed with Stanley and Heathcliff in her lab. "Are we just going to let them sneak out?"

"They're working together as a team." Stanley replied, "I think this will be a good bonding exercise for them. They know to keep hidden. And it's unlikely they'll actually find something. Now let them find the lab empty. Once they leave we'll go keep an eye on them."

* * *

Sunfire, Nova, and White Tiger emerged from the teleportation portal behind a warehouse near the docks. Once they were all out of the swirling green and blue vortex it collapsed in on itself and vanished. Sticking to the shadows, the three of them made their way through the alleyways of San Fransokyo. They had one destination in mind, San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. Being stealthy as they could with a flying boy who glowed bright blue, a young man made of fire, and a young woman in a skin tight white suit could, they made their way to the school.

"The school should still be shut down from the fire." Sunfire said, "But we should be careful, just in case. There's really no telling if someone is here or not."

"Are you sure you're up to this?" White Tiger asked, "Nova and I could go check it out if you don't feel up to it."

"I'm okay." Tadashi answered, "I need to do this. I need to know _why_ he did this to me."

"Alright, if you say so."

Once they set foot on the campus they made sure to avoid as many open area as they could, and Sunfire told them to keep their eyes peeled for any people who might be around. They eventually made their way to the remains of the once proud building. It was a mere shadow of its former glory, what little still stood was burnt and broken. Sunfire's heart raced at the sight of the showcase hall. If Callaghan hadn't hit him into those machines and chemicals he would be dead right now. But if Callaghan hadn't started the fire in the first place then none of this would be happening right now.

"Wow, this place is a mess." Nova commented, "It looks like they've been clearing it out though."

"Yeah…" Tadashi whispered, "If we're going to find anything on Callaghan it won't be here."

"Then where do we look?" White Tiger asked.

"If he's anywhere its probably in one of the abandoned warehouses near the docks." Sunfire answered, "No one ever goes to them. We should check those."

The three of them of them made their way back to the shadows and alleyways. After a close call with an older woman dressed way to inappropriately for someone her age they made it to the wharf just in time to see a masked man using the Microbots to try to crush a white minivan. The van manage to break free only to crash into the ocean.

"Nova get the people in the van!" Sunfire ordered, "White Tiger we'll get Callaghan!"

Nova shot past the masked man towards the water, but just as he was about to go under he stopped. He could not go any farther. Looking back he found his legs covered in Microbots. The Microbots pulled him back towards the dock and slammed him into Sunfire and White Tiger. Winded, all three forced themselves to their feet just as the masked man appeared in front of them. They took their fighting stances and the masked man readied the Microbots.

"Why are you doing this Callaghan?" Sunfire asked, "You used to be a good man!"

In response to the fiery young man's question Callaghan wrapped the Microbots around him and his two teammates faster than they could react. He went face to face with the fiery young man, studying him. Using some Microbots he ripped off the mask his captive was wearing to see who this kid was who know his identity. He was shocked to find a face covered with swirling orange-white skin and fiery hair, and a face that looked familiar, but he couldn't place it.

"Who are you boy?" Callaghan spat, "How do you know who I am."  
"My name is Sunfire," came the answer, "And lets just say you wronged me _really bad_."

"I see." Callaghan said, after a moment, "How did you get like this, Mr. Hamada?" Sunfire's eyes widened. "Your reaction confirms it. I don't know how you became a fiery demon but your aunt will be devastated when she learns she just lost her second nephew."

"What?" Sunfire asked, barely above a whisper.

"That's right your little brother and friends were in that van, no doubt drowned by now."

"There's no one in the van!" came Nova's voice from above the water. Callaghan's head snapped to see the boy floating there. He turned his head to where he was sure he just had him held captive seconds ago, only to find no one there.

"There are five people and a giant marshmallow walking away over there." White Tiger shouted from a nearby roof top. Callaghan growled, wondering when and how they broke free from his grasp, only to get punched in the face.

"You tried to kill me!" Sunfire snarled, a pile of partially melted Microbots near his feet. "You tried to kill my brother!"

Callaghan growled again, he clearly underestimated these people. He won't be making that mistake again. Using the Microbots he backed away and picked up a large shipping container and threw it at the trio, who had now regrouped. His eyes widened when the glowing boy caught it and threw it back at him. He knocked it aside and had to throw himself back to avoid the claws of the girl in white. Bringing up a wall of Microbots he blocked the stream of fire that his former student threw at him. Weighing his options, Callaghan decided it would be best to retreat. Forming a sphere around himself he quickly dove into the ocean.

"I'll go after him." Nova said.

"No." Sunfire objected, "You can't face him alone. We should go back. We'll train and get stronger, and next time, he won't get away."

"A very wise decision Sunfire."

"Mr. Lieber!" all three said in unison.

"And Jane!" Jane added, as she sucked up the broken Microbots with some kind of high tech vacuum.

"I have to admit, you three surprised me with how well you worked together to take on Callaghan." Stanley praised, "But you should have told me you were going to sneak out, I would have let you go. And Sunfire, don't worry about your friends and brother, I sent Heathcliff to take care of them."

"And you took out a good number of these Microbots." Jane said, "This should set him back a while. Nova, if you would be so kind as to put that shipping container back where it goes."

"So, we won this time?" Sunfire asked.

"You won this time." Stanley answered, smiling.

* * *

That's it for chapter four. April and June are named after Daisy Duck's other two nieces, while Lucille is named after Lucille from Meet The Robinsons. Ellie is named after Ellie Mae from the Rescuers and Jenny is named after Jennifer "Jenny" Foxworthy from Oliver & Company. None of them will be appearing in this story.


	5. Surprises

Surprises

Tadashi sat on the bed in his room looking out the window at the night sky. He heard from Stanley that Hiro and his friends were alright after their encounter with Callaghan. He wanted so bad to go and see them in person, but knew he couldn't because it was too risky. He also knew he should be sleeping, but after the night's events he was unable to. It was the second time Callaghan tried to kill him. And it wasn't just him this time. It was his teammates, friends, and brother too. He didn't know what happened before Callaghan tried to crush and drown his brother and friends but he knew the man who he used to look up to was truly gone.

"What happened to you, Callaghan?" He asked himself, out loud. "What could possibly make you fall so far?"

Trying to push these thoughts from his head, he decided to try to sleep again. Hi sighed as his head hit the pillow, but didn't feel sleepy. Would one of the others be up? Should he go check? A midnight snack would be nice at… two in the morning. Something sweet would be great. Maybe if he set a donut on fire the flames will take on the donut's flavor. Pushing himself out of bed he walked to the door. Upon opening it he was greeted with both his teammates, both wearing simple t-shirts and sweat pants, with 'deer in the headlights' expressions on both their faces.

"What are you two doing?" he asked.

"I caught Chris listening outside your door!"

"Thanks for throwing me under the bus." the boy in question retorted, "I couldn't sleep and was checking to see if you were awake too. May was nagging me. She's a nagger."

"I was going to do try something, wanna come?" Tadashi asked. Chris and May nodded and followed him.

The three of them sat around a table in the cafeteria, each with a small something to eat. Tadashi had a chocolate donut in front of him, hoping that his idea would work. He wanted to taste real food so bad. It had been almost a week since he woke up in this place. Can you even set donuts on fire? He wanted to eat it the normal way but it would just taste burnt. He flicked a small fireball at the donut, and was pleased when it did catch fire. He was even more pleased when the flames did, in fact, taste like the donut.

He noted he was getting good at creating flames from his body. He also found he could absorb fire and plasma. Supercooled plasma, he found the hard way, did not agree with him. It had to be the hot kind. He remembered feeling sick after he tried to absorb the cold plasma. He would not be doing that again. He wished it was just as easy to _put out_ his fire as it was to make his fire. But he was doing it, he was mastering his powers. He was even thinking of new ways to use them. One of the ways he thought of was flight. If rockets and hot air balloons could do it, why couldn't he?

"Hey, Chris, I was wondering if you could help me try something."

"What?" the boy responded.

"Can you help me try to fly?" Both pairs of eyes stared at him. "I mean, if rockets can fly, and hot air balloons can fly and both use heat, why can't I?"

"Um, we can try if you want."

* * *

After the morning's training and lunch the trio, in their super suits, stood on the beach of the island that housed the training hall. Sunfire was practicing staying airborne but jumping and trying to use his fire to keep him in the air. He was actually coming back down to the ground at a noticeably slower rate each jump. By the fifth jump he stayed airborne.

"Okay, now I just put the propulsion in the opposite direction I want to go." Sunfire partially stated and partially asked.

"Yeah," Nova said as he flew up and joined Sunfire in the air, "Just be careful not to use to much propulsion. First time I flew I ended up on the moon doing that."

"Okay," Sunfire said, "Lets do this."

Despite the warning Sunfire did use to much propulsion and ended up rocketing off into the distance, Nova in hot pursuit. Nova only intervened when Sunfire got to close to the water. Other than that Sunfire was going threw trial and error to figure out how to fly on his own. It took several minutes but Sunfire manage to stabilize himself, he let out a joyous yell after he did.

"This is awesome!" Sunfire shouted, "Whoooooo!"

"I know, right?" Nova replied, "The freedom."

"Yeah." Sunfire was breathless from shouting and the exhilaration of flight, a huge grin plastered on his face. "I wish my brother could be here."

"Sunfire, Nova, come in." Stanley's voice rang through their communicators, "Come back to base right now, something's come up."

"That doesn't sound good. Lets hurry." Sunfire ordered.

* * *

"Good, you're here." Stanley said when Sunfire and Nova entered the meeting room, Jane and White Tiger already seated, "I have your first real mission. There have sightings of strange creatures Rhubarb, Arkansas."

An image appeared on the screen behind Stanley. It showed a large creature that looked like a cross between a human and an ape. The image slowly spun around as an image of a normal human appeared next to it, showing a size comparison between the beast and a normal person. Several stats gathered from witness claims appeared next to the image of the man.

"You're sending us to look for Bigfoot on our first mission?" White Tiger asked, obviously not believing what she was seeing.

"You're going to investigate a possible threat and to make sure no one will get hurt." Stanley replied.

"Alright!" Nova excitedly shouted, "We're going Squatchin'!"

"I don't know whats more surprising," White Tiger said, "The fact there's a term for it, or the fact that you're excited about doing it."

"Oh, come _on_!" Nova replied, "Can you imagine? 'Super Hero team find Bigfoot'. We'll be famous!"

"Need I remind you that you need to stay hidden from the pubic eye." Stanley stated.

"No, sir." Nova sighed.

"Good, any other questions?" Stanley asked.

"Yes, is it a good idea to send a guy made of fire into the forest?" Sunfire asked.

"Don't touch anything and you'll be fine." Stanley responded, "Anyone else want to try and weasel out? No? Good. You leave in ten minutes."

The trio exited the Teleportal and found themselves in the middle of a forest. A nervous look plastered on Sunfire's face as he gave more space than was needed as they passes trees, bushes, and other flammable plants. Nova cheerfully floated, looking at any wild life they came across. White Tiger, reading a book on Cryptids as she walked, stumbled a few times as she walked.

"I seriously doubt this thing exists."White Tiger stated, "I mean it says here they live in family groups. If they're so many of them and they're so big, why haven't they found a body, or some fur, or something."

"Maybe they bury their dead." Nova answered, nonchalantly.

"Maybe I'll bury you!" White Tiger hissed.

"Maybe I'd like to see you try." Nova retorted.

"Whoa, okay." Sunfire intervened, "Let's not fight. We're a team, remember?"

"Yeah, sorry." White Tiger apologized, "I'm just a little upset at wasting our time here when we could be doing something constructive. Like training, or looking for Callaghan, or studying."

"Think of this as training then." Sunfire relied, "Its like working on our observational skills. And our survival skills."

"I guess."

"Good kitty." Nova said, patting the top of White Tiger's head. White Tiger growled and swatted his hand away.

The trio didn't say much else for the rest of the day. Aside from Sunfire practicing his flying, it was pretty uneventful. As night started to fall they set up camp, White Tiger set up the tents, Nova collected firewood, while Sunfire prepared dinner. After everything was finished, they ate in peace.

"Okay, so if we do a night investigation-" Sunfire started.

"Ew, geez," White tiger covered her nose with both hands, "Which one of you farted?"

"Not me." both male teammates answered.

"Well something stinks, so it… We're being watched." All three got into defensive positions.

"Are you sure?" Sunfire asked, "Can you tell what it is?"

"No, but its probably what stinks. I can track it."

"Its so cool to have a teammate with the abilities of an apex predator." Nova commented.

The trio followed White Tiger's nose, tracking whatever was watching them. It was running now, but White Tiger stayed on it from the ground while Nova and Sunfire tried to stop it from the air. The trees were to thick for them to see anything other than the occasional glimpse of movement through gaps in the leave. All that changed when the thing they were chasing ran into a clearing. All eyes widened at the creature that they saw. It was Bigfoot.

"Its real?" White Tiger questioned.

"Okay, catch it, but don't hurt it." Sunfire ordered, "We'll bring it to Stanley."  
"Right." Nova and White Tiger replied and the three of them jumped into action.

Sunfire blocked the creature from getting back into the forest, while Nova and White Tiger tried to restrain it. The creature dodged Nova's attempted tackles, and White Tiger's slashes and kicks. Until it went on the offensive. Dodging another of White Tiger's kicks, it grabbed her leg and threw her at the oncoming Nova, who caught her and set her down, only to get a massive fist to the face. Sunfire went to help Nova and White tiger glared at the creature. She ran, on all fours, jumping over Bigfoot's head, kicking the back of its head.

"Ow!" Bigfoot shouted, the trio stared, wide eyed. "Oh, that smarts."

"Since when does Bigfoot talk?" White Tiger asked when she landed. The creature in question grabbed the sides of its head and pulled it off.  
"Mr. Lieber!?" came the collective calls of the trio.

"Yep, its me." Stanley said, "This was a test to see how well you respond to the unexpected."

"So you made us spend all afternoon in the wilderness, dressed up like Bigfoot, had us chase you for miles, and fought us just to teach us about the unexpected?" Sunfire summarized.

"Would any of you have expected this to happen?"

"No…" All three replied.

"Then it worked. Just because something looks one thing, doesn't mean that's what it is. Always keep an open mind and an open eye. Now, lets go pack your things and go home. Heathcliff has dinner ready and stomping around the forest in a monkey suit sure makes a man hungry."

* * *

That's it for this chapter. Stanley is a _creative_ teacher.


	6. Callaghan

Callaghan

Tadashi woke up with a groan. He rubbed his temples trying to get rid of the splitting headache he had. Once he realized that wasn't working he decided to see if Jane had something to get rid of it. Upon opening his eyes he knew something was wrong. For starters, he wasn't in his room. Looking around he saw one wall was made entirely of vertical metal bars. He was in a cell. _How did I get here? Where are the others? Calm down, I'll just melt the bars and escape. Then I'll find the others and we can figure put where we are._

"Good morning Mr. Hamada." voice came from the other side of the bars. He didn't have to turn around to know who that voice belonged to.

"Callaghan." Tadashi spat, "How and why did you kidnap me?"

"It wasn't easy. I tracked the energy signature of all those fancy portals you were using to get to your secret base. Once I triangulated its location it was just a simple matter of sneaking in, drugging you, and sneaking back out. But your two friends had to try and stop me. I had to end their lives."

"You…" Tadashi's breath was stuck in his throat. Chris and May, Callaghan killed them? "You're lying…"

"I thought you might need some convincing." Callaghan tossed a cracked green amulet in the shape of a tiger's head and a dented golden yellow helmet into the cell. "They tried so hard to get you back, but the failed and it cost them their lives. This is your fault Mr. Hamada. If you had stayed out of my business none of this would have happened."

"No…" Tadashi whispered as he picked up his teammates belongings. His fire fizzled out as he did so.

"Oh, so you can turn yourself back to normal."

"What?" Tadashi's voice refused to go past a whisper. He looked at his arms, instead of the orange-white skin he'd gotten used to since the fire he saw his normal skin.

"You don't look happy Mr. Hamada, I returned you to normal. You should at least say thank you."

"You killed my friends! Why on earth would on earth would I thank you!?" Tadashi shouted, his fire returning in a full blaze of anger and hatred. It took everything he had not to burn Callaghan to a crisp where he stood.

"Ta- Tadashi?" a weak voiced filled his ears, making his blood run cold.

"Hiro!?"

"Tadashi? Hiro?" A new voice called.

"Aunt Cass!?" both boys replied.

"That's right Mr. Hamada." Callaghan said, "I have your family and if you want them to stay unharmed you'll bow down to me and do as I say."

"I'll never bow to you!" Tadashi replied, his voice filled with venomous hatred. Callaghan smirked, making Tadashi falter, and pressed a button on the remote he was holding. The pained screams of his brother and aunt filled his hear. "Stop! Stop, please! I'll do whatever you want."

"Good boy." Callaghan replied, but didn't stop the screaming for a few more seconds. "Remember, their lives are in your hands now. If you do what I say when I say it no harm will come to them. But if you don't they will die, and if will be entirely your fault. From now on you'll address me as Master, is that clear."

"Yes." Tadashi spat. Callaghan frowned and pressed the button again. Hiro's and Cass' screams filled the room once more. "Master! Yes, Master!"

"Good. Your first mission is to prove your loyalty to me. Your friends at SFIT, I want you to kill them. Bring me back proof from each one that you got the job done."

"What? I can't…" Tadashi's breathing was ragged. Callaghan raised his remote. "Okay! Okay, I'll think of something…"

"You have until sunrise tomorrow to return with the proof." Callaghan ordered. As soon as the cell opened Tadashi ran. He didn't stop at the protests of his aunt and brother. He didn't even look at them. After what he was about to do he would never be able to again. He couldn't stop the tears from coming.

* * *

Tadashi landed on the ground in front of the lab he and his friends shared. No one was around, which he was both glad, because no one would see him, and sad, because now he had no excuse to not go through with his orders. As he walked the familiar halls his mind was racing. Could he really murder his friends? The ones who let him vent to them when Hiro was overwhelming him. The ones who helped him when Baymax was being difficult during the test trials. The one's who had been his best friends since they met. The ones who took in his brother after his… accident.

No, no he couldn't. But maybe they could help. If he explained Callaghan had Hiro and Aunt Cass and that he had already killed his teammates, his friends, than maybe they'll help him somehow. He stood outside the door separating the lab from the hall. Looking through the window on the door he saw the lab was empty except his four friends. He sighed and opened the door.

"Hiro! Its about…" GoGo started, but stopped when she saw who entered.

"HOLY MOTHER OF MEGAZON!" Fred shouted.

"Guys wait! Its me! Tadashi!"

"Tadashi's dead!" GoGo snapped, grabbing one of her rejected mag lev wheels and throwing it at the fiery intruder.

"No! I swear its me! GoGo, Honey Lemon, Wasabi, Fred, please! I need your help!"

"How do you know our names?" Wasabi asked, skeptical.

"It _me_ , Tadashi. I went into the fire to save Callaghan and got turned into this. Please, you have to believe me. Honey, you let me vent my frustrations about Hiro to you. Wasabi, I helped you clean up your work space when your plasma experiment exploded. Fred, we would go look at comics together. GoGo, you owe me fifty dollars." Tadashi watched as his friends glanced at each other.

"You are not Tadashi Hamada." GoGo said, "He was not a monster like you."

"Who do you think you are, trying to taint our best friend's memory?" Wasabi spat.

"You're the worst." Honey Lemon added, "You're a demon."

"Classic villain strategy," Fred said, "Try to convince the heroes you're their fallen friend so you can stab them in the back. Well it won't work on us mister!"

"No… No, its _really me_." Tadashi pleaded, "Please, Callaghan has Hiro and Aunt Cass. He wants me to kill you of he'll kill them. He killed two of my friends. _Please._ " Tadashi was all out begging now.

"I can't believe it." GoGo spoke, Tadashi looked at her, "It was you. You're the one who started the fire. You're the one who killed Professor Callaghan and Tadashi Hamada."

"No, please, I need your help! Callaghan-" Tadashi ducked under another wheel GoGo threw.

Honey ran into her work space and came out a few minutes later with her arms full of vials. Tadashi dodged the vials, closing in on her. Once he was close enough he snatched her glasses before nabbing Fred's beanie. After swiping Wasabi's bandana he wrestled GoGo's jacket from her and ran. If Callaghan would believe he did as he ordered maybe he could figure out a way to free them. He just needed some time.

* * *

"Here's your proof." Tadashi said as he handed Callaghan his friends, if he could even call them that anymore, belongings.

"Do you think I'm stupid, Mr. Hamada?" Callaghan asked, "I watched the whole think on the lab's security cameras. You didn't do what I told you to do. Your family's demise is on your hands."

"NO!" Tadashi yelled as Callaghan pushed the button and his family's screams filled the area. "STOP IT!"

Before Tadashi could even think he sent a wave of fire at Callaghan. Callaghan screamed in pain as his body burned. Tadashi tried to stop, but the fire had a mind of its own and help coming. The smell o burnt flesh filled his nostrils as he started openly wailing. By the time he stopped Callaghan was nothing more than a pile of ash, and he was visibly trembling. Running over to the two doors he ripped one from its hinges and ran inside. Inside was his aunt, strapped to a chair, slumped down and not moving. She wasn't breathing. His breathing quickened and he ran to the other door, pulling it off its hinges just like the first one. Inside was Hiro, he was slouched, but breathing and looking at Tadashi.

"Hiro!" Tadashi cried, and he ran over and ripped his restraints off.

"You killed him…" was all Hiro said, his voice was almost inaudible.

"I-I didn't mean to… it was an accident…"

"If it was an accident you would have stopped when he started screaming."

"I tried, but the fire wouldn't stop…"

"Are you going to kill me too?" Tadashi stiffened at the question.

"Of course-" Before Tadashi could finish his sentence Hiro burst into flame. "HIRO!" The more Tadashi tried to put out the fire the bigger it got.

"Your a monster! You should have stayed dead!" Hiro said before he dissolved into the fire. Tadashi backed out of the room and tripped over something on the floor. Looking to see what it was he saw the six burnt corpses of his friends, staring at him. He screamed.

* * *

Tadashi shot up into a sitting position on his bed. Panting and sweaty, he looked around and found himself in his room and the Training Academy, the only light in the room was his fiery glow. _A nightmare._ He thought to himself as his door burst open, startling him. He looked up and saw Nova and White Tiger entered his room, ready to fight.

"Are you okay? What happened?" White Tiger asked.

"You're alive… Callaghan didn't kill you…" Tadashi whispered, raggedly.

"Killed us? Tadashi, what are you talking about?" Nova responded.

"I had a nightmare. Callaghan killed you. Or I killed you, I don't know. I remember seeing your burnt bodies with those of my old friends. And… and… my aunt and brother… they…"

"Its okay, it was just a bad dream." Stanley said, him and Jane standing behind Nova and White Tiger, "And you don't have to worry about Callaghan anymore. He was arrested earlier today."

"What? How?"

"A new super hero team showed up and took him down. The news is calling them the Big Hero 6. I'm not sure who they are, but we need to find out as soon as possible."

"Oh, how long was I asleep?"

"Sine we got back from the expectancy test last night, so about a day. You just crashed, we assume its from all the stress you're constantly under, so we let you sleep. Jane is running tests to be safe. And at least Callaghan is out of the equation."

"Yeah…"

"Dinner's ready, so come down when you're ready to eat, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be down soon."

"Are you really okay?" White Tiger asked after Stanley and Jane left.

"Yeah, I'm okay…" Tadashi lied, putting on an obviously fake smile. Nova and White Tiger shared a worried glance.

* * *

That ends this chapter.


	7. Identity

Identity

Tadashi sat on the beach outside. It was his favorite spot on the island. It was concealed behind some rocks so he could come here and be alone with his thoughts. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't get the images from his nightmare out of his mind. The staring faces of his deceased friends etched into his brain. Any hope he had to go home and be with his family was shattered. It would just take one time losing control. Just one time.

"Is all of this worth it?" he asked himself. He didn't expect an answer, no one was around. "I can create fire at will. I can control any flame, whether I make it or not. I can _fly_. But I can't turn off this stupid fire my body is constantly letting out." He ran his hand over his head in frustration. "What am I doing wrong? This constant stress is eating away at me… I just don't know anymore…"

He was tired. Tired of the constant stress of his condition, constant worry for his family, constant fear of accidentally hurting someone. He didn't use to feel this way. When he first started training he had hope. Hope that either his mastery of his powers would allow him to return to normal or Jane would be able to cure him. Neither happened.

He glanced out to the ocean. Maybe if he jumped in then his fire would go out. That thought was quickly tossed aside when he remember water hurt him now. If he jumped in then he would probably die, then Hiro really would lose his brother. He couldn't do that. He just needed to find another way, to look at things from a new angle. Right? Maybe it would be best to just give up on going home, everyone thinks he's dead anyway.

"There you are!" Nova said as he flew up.

"What do you want, Chris?" Tadashi asked, not happy about being found.

"I'm in my armor, you're supposed to call me Nova. Stanley has a mission for us."

"Fine."

* * *

Stanley sent them on a rescue mission. Some kids were playing in an abandoned mine when it when the entrance collapsed. They had to find them and get them out before the rest of the mine caved in. The Teleportal left them outside the entrance, since it doesn't work underground. Quickly clearing the entrance they ran in, White Tiger trying to track the kids.

"I'm picking up scents from this tunnel." White Tiger said.

"Okay, lets hurry and get those kids out and check the blocked off tunnel, just to be safe." Sunfire ordered.

They ran down the tunnel until they reached a part that was blocked off by fallen rocks. Leaving as many of the rocks in place as they could, they cleared the path and pressed forward. Reaching a small room they found three children there, a blonde girl, a redhead boy, and a boy with back hair. They children looked at them, fear clearly displayed on their faces.

"Its okay,"Sunfire soothed, "We're hear to help. We're going to get you out. Are there any more of you" The kids shook their heads 'no'.

"We've got to hurry, this place is unstable." White Tiger urged. No sooner than she finished the room caved in. Sunfire and White Tiger shielded the kids while Nova stopped the ceiling from crushing them.

"Is everyone alright?" Sunfire coughed, taking note of the room once the dust settled. His and White Tiger's suits were in tatters, meaning he could no longer touch anyone, and Nova was holding up a large boulder. He was struggling to keep it up, and was slowly getting closer and closer to the ground.

"The kids and I are okay." White Tiger answered, but it look like Red here sprained his ankle."

"Glad to, ugh, hear that but, gah, can you hurry and, ugh, get them out of here." Nova ordered, the strain of the boulder he was holding evident in his voice.

Sunfire melted a small path through the debris that blocked the tunnel they came in through, absorbing the heat so they can go through right away. White Tiger took the injured boy through, the other two kids following her. Once they were safe Sunfire turned back to Nova, who's feet were now firmly on the ground and his knees where shaking.

"Okay, we need to figure out how to get you out of here." Sunfire said.

"There's no way, just go. Ugh, hurry…" Nova replied, solemnly.

"No, we just need to think of a new angle. Maybe… Maybe if I can melt the boulder…."

"Its to big. Sunfire, Tadashi, I need you, ugn, to do me a favor." Nova requested, as he fell to his knees, "My mom, oof, please tell her, geh, please tell her I'm sorry for not coming back and I love her. And take care of my, ugh, sisters, guh, they need it."

"No, I'm going to get you out of here. I'm-" Sunfire didn't get to finish his sentence when a blue energy blast knocked him out of the room, just at the chamber ceiling hit the floor. "NOVA!"

* * *

Tadashi, May, Stanley, and Jane stood outside the mine, candles in their hands. They had built a small cross and grave stone and set them next to the entrance. Despite his best efforts nothing Sunfire did could even budge the large boulders his friend was trapped under. He tried melting away as much of them as he could but there were just too many. Even when White Tiger came back, their combined efforts did no good.

"What are we going to tell his family?" May asked.

"His mom didn't want him here for this very reason." Stanley said, "She's going to be devastated when I tell her."

"I'll tell them." Tadashi said, "He asked me to."

"This is the sacrifice that all heroes risk in their line of work." Jane said. "We should go, he wouldn't want us standing around mourning like this."

"Yeah, we'll go tell his family in the morning." Stanley said, and they entered the Teleportal home.

* * *

Tadashi laid on the sand in his favorite, secluded, part of the beach. His thoughts filled with the people in his life. There was one less now. While they didn't know each other long, just over a month, they had gotten close with all the training and missions and just hanging out. And now it wouldn't be the same. The trio was a duo now. This team would always be incomplete.

His thoughts fell to Hiro. What he must have felt when Tadashi ran into the fire to save the monster of a man who caused his transformation, his and his family's grieving. While he was close to Nova and White Tiger, it was nothing compared to his bond with his brother. Despite the age difference they were best friends. He gave his whole being to Hiro when their parents died. And now he couldn't go near his brother without constant fear of hurting him. His time away gave him time to think. Where does Hiro Hamada end and Tadashi Hamada begin?

Tadashi Hamada was someone who loved to help people. He invented a healthcare companion for that very reason. His powers helped save the lives of three young children today. His powers would allow him to save so many more. More than he would be able to without them. They were a gift, not a curse like he had believed. His mind was made up. His powers are a gift, and he's keeping them. He's going to go back to his family **and** he's going to be a super hero. Not either or, but both.

"My name is Tadashi Hamada." He said out loud, as his flames went out, "And I'm going to help so many people."

* * *

And that ends the story. Thanks to everyone who read this.


End file.
